James Pearce Champion

Look at all you'll derive out of being alive

And here is the best part, you have a head start

If you are among the very young at heart.”

It is with heavy hearts we announce that on February 23rd, our deeply loved father and grandfather, James Pearce Champion, passed away peacefully at the age of 92, surrounded by love and by family. He was born September 20th, 1924 in Burnaby, and grew up in White Rock during the Depression alongside siblings Gordon and Doris. He loved the ocean and spent much of his youth at the beach swimming, fishing, and collecting seaweed for the garden. James, or Jim, also spent a great deal of time cutting wood, an activity he enjoyed throughout his life.

In 1942, at the age of 18, he volunteered for the Canadian Navy (RCNVR AB Combined Operations) and served as an able bodied seaman on the HMCS Prince David. He landed on Juno Beach at Normandy on D-Day as a landing craft crew member (LCI). He was active until 1945, engaged in operations in Sicily and throughout the Mediterranean Theatre.

Upon returning home, he fell in love with Ethel Danielson. They married in 1947, and remained together until her passing in 1990. They purchased land in Burnaby where Jim built them a house, followed by a second house as their family grew. Their four children, Linda, Bou (Gail), James, and Steven, and the seven grandchildren that followed, formed a tight-knit family that looked up to Jim with a well-earned sense of love, admiration, and respect. Once their children had left home, Jim and Ethel enjoyed traveling throughout North America in their camper.

The same year he married Ethel, he joined the Vancouver Fire Department. He proudly spent 37 years with the department, much of his time on the Rescue 2 wagon in the DTES, retiring in 1984 as a district chief. Being a fireman and the camaraderie that came with the job meant a lot to Jim, and he was a highly respected and admired firefighter.

Later in life Jim reconnected with Norma Johnson, a childhood friend, and they enjoyed living and traveling together until her passing. His last years were spent surrounded by family in the home he built. While initially raised in the teachings of Christian Science, Jim later self-identified as a Humanist, and there wasn’t a person he met that he couldn’t find the good in, or something to connect with them about. Jim was endlessly curious, and had the patience to really listen to people, hear them, and appreciate them. He was tolerant, respectful, loyal, and kind. And he was always, to his very core, an optimist.

A service, or as Jim wanted it to be called, his “going away party,” will be held on Friday, June 30, 2017 at 12:30 in the Celebration Hall (Mountain View Cemetery) at 5455 Fraser St, Vancouver, BC . We have set up an email account at [email protected]. Please feel free to share with us any photos or memories you may have of him, or to let us know if you would like to be contacted about service details as they become available. In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial donation to the CCPA (https://www.policyalternatives.ca). One thing that always stood out about Jim was his desire to do whatever he could for others and expect nothing in return. Perhaps the most fitting tribute would be to do something nice for someone else and think of him.

Arrangements under the direction of First Memorial Funeral Services, North Vancouver, BC.